Virginia Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Gate City, Virginia

Thinking about starting a business in Gate City, Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Gate City.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Gate City. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Good Business Ideas.

For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Drugless Practitioners Business guide or our How to Start an Information Processing & Retrieval Equipment & Systems Business guide.

Remember that starting a business in Gate City has some implications. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Gate City. Don't forget to review Gate City demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Gate City, Virginia Demographic Information

Gate City has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Gate City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Gate City.

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
191
5-9 Employees
108
10-19 Employees
63
20-49 Employees
33
50-99 Employees
3
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Gate City Businesses
398

As a new Gate City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Gate City for each business category. By looking at this chart, you can get a general sense for how much competition there is in the business niche that you are pursuing.

Business Type
# of
Businesses
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Business Associations
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Credit Unions
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
4
Engineering Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Florists
2
Full-Service Restaurants
3
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
4
Hardware Stores
2
Homes for the Elderly
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
5
Logging
2
New Car Dealers
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Lawyers
9
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Radio Stations
1
Siding Contractors
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Tire Dealers
2
Used Car Dealers
2
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Is Buying an Existing Gate City Business a Good Strategy?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Virginia. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Gate City.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Raising money to fund your new Gate City business will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Bank Credit Lines.

For Gate City entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Virginia Angel Investors and our List of Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

Building Up Your Sales

Being able to sell is essential to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Gate City or are selling to customers throughout Virginia, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Closing Sales Techniques is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Gate City. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Gate City and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Gate City, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Gate City, Virginia

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Gate City.

More Startup Articles for Virginia Cities

Starting a Business in Galax
Starting a Business in Glen Allen

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Virginia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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